Khazali
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| | Difficulty:3A IV PG (v5a1 V) Raps:11-14, max ↨164ft
Red Tape:Permit required Shuttle:Required 45 min Vehicle:4WD Rock type:Sandstone, granite | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Condition Reports: | 5 May 2022
"14 raps skipped 5 anchors along the way. Downclimbs and skipping rebelays. Very difficult to find the first anchors, nearly 2 hours. Lots of old mate |
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| Best season: | Spring to Autumn, BEST in Spring
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29.5103, 35.4180
29.5004, 35.4318
29.5223, 35.4227
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Introduction[edit]
This is an impressive Mountain and canyon in the middle of Wadi Rum, with spectacular scenery and ancient Nabataean and Islamic inscriptions. It's actually a massive mountain with nice narrow canyon. The bottom 100m is very popular with tour groups, one of the key attractions on Wadi Run 4WD tours.
Do not under-estimate how much time is required to complete the canyon. The approach is typically via a Bedouin climbing route (Sabbah's), then various complex route options through domes and fault-lines to reach the canyon. The canyon is typically dry, but swimming pools can be found which significantly increases the timeline (the friction traverses suddenly become quite scary).
Approach[edit]
You need to take a 4WD from Wadi Rum village with a Bedouin taxi to reach the mountain base "start point" (29.500857953135245, 35.43220729143974) at a desert camp. The ascent follows Sabbah's route up to the summit.
From the Khazali summit domes, various approaches are used to enter the canyon. It seems the most common follows blue paint from 29.505167827233464, 35.424382318696225, just after reaching the summit plateau - it's worth visiting the summit then returning to this point.
- Just after reaching the summit plateau, look left to see a hollow area about the size of a football field, descend to the hollow.
- Walk ~50m to the north-west corner where you find 2 narrow cracks, take the left crack - you need to friction up to the crack, then 20m of horizontal strenous stemming with an easy silo midway.
- Follow the faultline (0.5 - 3m wide) due west for 200m in a straight line, sometimes in the corridor, sometimes on the right.
- The faultline will start to bend to the right with a barrier wall, look left slightly behind you, you can zig-zag your way south for 40m, uphill, to find a horizontal narrow 10m cleft, shuffle sideways with your pack above your head. You enter into a wide sandy valley.
- You're now in the upper of valley that will lead north into Khazali siq. Walk down canyon in the sandy wash.
Alternative - various reports suggest that various groups leave the summit direct west to enter the large faultlines that lead into Khazali canyon below the approach noted aboive. These alternate approaches require rappels.
Descent[edit]
Many groups recommend a 2-day trip with a night under the stars: 1st day ascending to the summit, camping around there; 2nd day rappel down through the canyon.
Some reports suggest this is an easy descent with ~10 rappels, others suggest there are ~20 anchors and the whole day is way more involved than expected. The conditions range from completely dry to multiple swims. As a generalisation, the most-traveled route avoids the canyon floor for large stretches, traversing ledges to avoid chockstones and pools.
A selection of topos are provided below:
Described from the approach noted from the upper valley due south of the canyon:
The canyon heads north
Rappel 1 & 2 - Bolt, glued drilled piton & drilled flute with threaded cord. Can be combined. 15m + 15m. 2nd anchor on large ledge with threaded tape on right.
Walk down canyon in the sand with a few left-right 90-degree bends, to a large juniper tree. At this point, a nice flat balcony area beyond the juniper tree. The canyon floor turns west and drops over a cliff, then turns north through a narrow slot.
Rappel 3 - Threaded tape. Many groups downclimb this. Travel 10m west down the easy-angled chute to the vertical drop, at this point, you can step-down to the canyon right (north) into an eroded cave inside the cliff, exposed, from here traverse horizontally north with the exposure reducing to gain a small summit.
You are on a finger ridge parrallel to the main slot. Scramble north down the finger ridge to a large ledge / balcony above a T-junction (Al Uzza Canyon, running west - to east), then easily re-gain the sandy canyon floor.
Immediately gain the left / west side ledge, then descend a faultline on the left.
Rappel 4 - Threaded tape on the left. 8m down north to ledge. Turn right / east to find next anchor.
The canyon heads east
Alternative R4 - just above the anchor for R4, you can traverse left (north west) into Al Uzza canyon & a large overhang. Then scramble down to the base of R4. Having said that, some groups complete the traverse then find they need to rappel anyway.
Rappel 5 - Bolts on the right. 25m, east. Vertical crack. Step across a pothole at the base. Walk along the right wall.
Rappel 6 - Bolts on the right wall. 18m, vertical for a few metres then easier angled. Walk into the canyon floor then across to a narrow slot at the left.
Rappel 7 - Bolts on the right, 7m. Usually dry, but waist deep in Jan 2026.
Follow the sloping and undulating ledge on the left side of the crack. You will find a rubble slope on the left overlooking an ampitheatre.
Rappel 8 - threaded tape through an arch on the ground. Or, other groups use an anchor on the ledge at the left with a safety rope to access it. Clean the rubble slope before throwing the rope. 28m, it is possible to use a 50m rope doubled, which places you 3m above the ground in a stemming position where you can un-rope then downclimb.
The canyon heads north
This places you in a large amphitheatre where the canyon turns north. In Jan 2026 there was a stuck rope on the east side of the amphitre about 10m above the ground. From the amphitheatre, head north, follow the left/west ledge for 100m to avoid boulders then join the sandy wash under soaring cliffs. It's about 700m where the narrow slot begins. When the slots starts, walk the left ledge until it ends.
Rappel 9 - Drilled flute with cord, 3m. Really a down-climb. You're 10m above the canyon floor, down-climb 3m down good foothold scoops to a ledge, where you can traverse off left / west to a large ledge. Follow the ledge north until it ends.
Rappel 10 - Threaded tape in eroded cave. 17m or 10M + DC. Drop into the canyon floor. Either continue over the next little drop or down-climb. Walk a few metres.
Rappel 11 - Bolt left, 7m. Fixed rope in Jan 2026. Usually dry, a swim in Jan 2026.
Walk a little. Blue dots will lead high right on to a narrow ledge which seems to end above space. Step right into an eroded cave with a fixed rope (might be the anchor).
Rappel 12 & 13 - Threaded tape in eroded cave. Can be combined, but perhaps best to split for easier rope pull. 12m to large ledge on canyon floor, in-between a 90-degree east and 90-degree back north. Re-belay from bolts on right, 10m. Straight down leads into mini sandy pothole usually dry, but water in Jan 2026 so you can angle right into into sandy corridor. Walk 30m in sand.
Rappel 14 - Threaded chockstone in canyon floor. Fixed rope in Jan 2026. 5m, usually dry, swim in Jan 2026.
Walk 100m or so with some scrambling between boulders as the canyon widens a little, then closes in again on the left.
Rappel 15 - Threaded chockstone in canyon floor, 6m. Usually dry, pool in Jan 2026. The drop has a sloping ledge on the left that can be down-climbed to avoid the pool, but with silt this is slippery so you'll need an anchor at left.
A challenging slippery 2.5m downclimb off a flat boulder onto uneven slippery boulders. Walk 10m, the canyon turns 90 degrees east.
Rappel 16, 17, 18, 19 - Sequence.
- 16 - thread on left, 12m, heads east into sandy chamber.
- 17 - bolt left, 8m, heads north, with a challenging step across a pothole on rope to a cleft big enough for 2 people.
- 18 - bolts right, 20m, heads east into sandy chamber, down a nice flute.
- 19 - single bolt left, 8m, heads east through narrow crack.
The canyon turns north again and the walls widen. A few chockstones on the canyon floor are avoided on the right with blue paint marking the way. With silt on the rock and shows, it's likely the canyon floor is quicker and safer than the exposed traversing. You're almost out. You will find a sandy shallow pothole just before the tourist section. Blue paint avoids this on the right. Pictures show this to be waist-deep, but in Jan 2026 this looked a swim with the sand washed out, avoiding on the right was very slippery.
Rappel 20 - meat anchor, 5m slippery ramp.
Rappel 21 - thread in pothole, didn't find in Jan 2026 with the anchor under water, used meat anchor. 5m. There are Bedouin carved steps on this drop, relatively easy to ascend/descend when dry, but treacherous when wet, use a rope when wet.
You should now meet lots of tourists. Walk 100m out to the desert.
Exit[edit]
The exit is a popular slot canyon full of ancient petroglyphs
Red tape[edit]
A permit is required to enter the Wadi Rum protect area.
If you would like to drive your own 4WD beyond the village an extra fee is required (Jan 2026, 35 JPD per day). However, it is much easier and less stressful to hire a Bedouin taxi (Toyota Hilux) from the rest house, 10 JOD each way.
Beta sites[edit]
Camp to Camp : Djebel Khush Khashah : Canyon de Khazali (à la descente)
Open Canyon : Khazali Canyon- Canyon Carto : Khazali Canyon
- Wadi Ram : Bedouin Roures of Wadi Rum
CicaRudeClan.com : Jebel Khazali Siq
Trip reports and media[edit]
- Mountain Guide : Jebel Khush Khashah et descente du canyon de Khazali, 2013
Google Photos : Wadi Rum. Canyon Khazali (Dec. 2017), by Ian Rybak- Google Photos : 2022:04:05 Siq Kush Khashah (first descent) and Siq Khazali, by Canyon Dave
- YouTube : 2022:04:05 Siq Kush Khashah (first descent) and Siq Khazali, by Canyon Dave
Edom Adventures https://www.facebook.com/EdomCanyons